Weak Text Passed in Rio

Negotiators for more than 100 countries, including Canada, have signed a draft blueprint for sustainable development, but critics say Canada was instrumental in making the plan unduly weak. Officials at the Rio+20 conference in Brazil compromised and delivered a 283-point “vision” for leaders and politicians to ratify later this week. But critics say the draft was a weak compromise, lacking firm timelines or commitments. Environmentalists blamed Canada, in part, for arguing against a new agreement that would better protect the biodiversity of the high seas. Read more at the Vancouver Sun.